The Importance of Being Sad

In defense of a demonized emotion

These are just a few of the things that make Carvell Wallace sad: “Michael Jackson, our family dog, my son’s eyes when he was a toddler, my daughter’s first bicycle. The Oakland Raiders, The Golden State Warriors, gentrification, mediocre hamburger restaurants, Midtown Manhattan on a Sunday, people delivering food in the snow, sunsets.”

There are others—many others. Wallace has always been sad, a character trait that invited scorn and judgment from others: not as manly as anger, not as artistic as…